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Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Hank Johnson’s answer: The big rent checks were needed to catch up on the times he couldn’t pay
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A spokeswoman for U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Decatur) says a Republican web site is mischaracterizing rent payments by Johnson’s campaign to his own law firm.
As posted earlier today,, the web site Majority Accountability Project said it had found that Johnson “pays more in rent for his campaign office than any other member of Georgia’s Congressional delegation, including the Peach State’s two U.S. Senators — a distinction made more dubious by the fact Johnson’s landlord is the law firm that bears his name.”
Here’s what Deb McGhee Speights, spokewoman for Johnson, sent us in an e-mail:
“The $1,500 paid by the campaign represented the fair market value of the leased space as required by law.
“Johnson and Johnson Law Group leased space from the property owner and subleased temporary space to the campaign. The campaign payment reflected in April 2007 was a good faith effort to catch up rent which was in arrears.
“As you will recall Hank’s campaign was a grassroots effort that was won with comparatively little money. As a challenger to a sitting member, it is unfair to compare Hank’s campaign expenses to those of incumbents - that’s like comparing apples to oranges.”
Speights said that while the check from the Johnson campaign was written to the Johnson law firm, that sum was then handed over to the property owner — who was not Johnson.
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Notes from a transportation conference committee meeting
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
House and Senate conferees pronounced themselves “close” to a deal on a transportation sales tax package Wednesday evening.
All that was wanted was a wink or a nod from a governor who is 7,033 miles away in Beijing. And, when last heard from, expressed hostility toward the idea.
Here’s the situation:
The Senate has come out strongly against writing into the state constitution regional taxation districts for transportation, for all sorts of reasons — but the bottom line is that senators are fearful that the tail that is metro Atlanta might some day be able to use such a tool to wag the Georgia dog. The issue of rail comes most immediately to mind.
So they’ve stripped down the November ballot question to a bare essential — which Senate negotiators argue would be easier to sell to the public in any case.
Enabling legislation would be passed with the proposed constitutional amendment on Friday, laying out the details of money distribution and such. The regional approach would be adopted, but under the auspices of the Legislature — and its control.
The House is inclined to go along with this, except for one thing. Gov. Sonny Perdue has lobbied against the sales tax for transportation, and has told some lawmakers that he’ll campaign against it in the fall.
What use is the constitutional amendment, asked House Transportation Chairman Vance Smith (R-Pine Mountain), if the governor vetoes the enabling legislation?
“The last question we asked [upstairs] — and it’s still on our mind — is what kind of guarantee do we have that enabling legislation will continue to go through the process and at the end of the session will be signed?” Smith said.
Without the governor’s backing, he said, “What do we have left?”
Said Jeff Mullis (R-Chickamauga), chairman of the Senate transportation committee: “I can’t guarantee you what the governor will do. I just feel confident that we can convince him we need to pass this.”
Mullis and Smith agreed to send a letter to Perdue to sound him out.
But here’s the interesting point: Already, the topic of a veto override is being addressed, ever so gently. Imagine a scenario in which a) the governor vetoes the enabling legislation this spring, and b) voters approve the ballot proposal in November.
The picture was painted very carefully by Don Balfour (R-Snellville), the Senate Rules chairman and one of the conferees:
“You come back in January, and you have two or three alternatives. I think from your side, you’re wondering if maybe the Senate side would take up some of those alternatives — based on past history. And that’s a valid concern.
That, friends, was a slightly veiled reference to the 12 veto overrides passed by the House. The Senate agreed to only one of the overrides.
After the meeting, a Senate conferee wondered out loud whether House members were angling for a commitment from Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, saying that he would “consider” an override if necessary.
A House conferee replied that something stronger than “consider” would be needed.
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Senate to take up concealed weaponry on MARTA, but may draw the line at packing while imbibing in restaurants
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Don’t you love it when you’re right?
The Senate is a bill or two away from debating H.B. 257.
Below is the amendment that will be offered to permit holders of concealed weapons permits to carry on MARTA, but would require those who pack heat in restaurants to avoid alcohol.
Here’s the wording:
“A person licensed or permitted to carry a firearm by this part shall be permitted to carry such firearm, subject to the limitations of this part, in public transportation…provided, however, that a person shall not carry a firearm into a place prohibited by federal law.
“A person licensed or permitted to carry a firearm by this part shall not consume alcoholic beverages in a restaurant or other eating establishment while carrying a firearm. Any person violating this subsection shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.”
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Democrat in the Senate will try to bring back guns-in-parking-lots language
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
State Sen. J.B. Powell, a conservative Democrat from Blythe, says he’ll try to tack the following language onto H.B. 257, a bill to permit constables to carry firearms in public buildings:
No private or public employer shall establish, maintain, or enforce any policy or rule that has the effect of prohibiting an employee for transporting or storing a firearm in a locked motor vehicle; provided, however, that this Code Section shall not apply to correctional facilities, federal property, or public or private employer owned vehicles.
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On the bright side, when the toilet clogs, you just call yourself to complain
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A Republican web site called Majority Accountability Project says it has found that U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson, a DeKalb County Democrat, “pays more in rent for his campaign office than any other member of Georgia’s Congressional delegation, including the Peach State’s two U.S. Senators — a distinction made more dubious by the fact Johnson’s landlord is the law firm that bears his name.”
Reviewing campaign reports filed with the Federal Elections Commission, the group found that “Johnson began paying Johnson and Johnson Law Group in Decatur, Ga., $1,500 a month in ‘rent for campaign headquarters’ in April, 2007. Johnson practiced civil and criminal law at Johnson and Johnson for more than 30 years, where he was a partner with his wife, Mereda Davis Johnson.”
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Linger Longer, Jekyll authority back off plans to replace parking lot with island condos, hotels
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The forces out to reduce the footprint of Jekyll Island’s redevelopment won a surprise victory Wednesday, as the authority that oversees the island announced that it was backing off plans to put condos or hotels on a huge parking lot with direct acess to the beach.
{On the right is a photo of much of the property in question.)
Instead, the parking lot will be converted to “a public park, improved public access and beach parking, and an environmental conservation center,” according to a letter from Ben Porter, chairman of the Jekyll Island Authority, to House Majority Leader Jerry Keen.
The letter was released this morning. Click here to read it.
“After conferring with our revitalization partner, Linger Longer Communities, we have made the decision to limit use of this area to those public purposes and not development of accommodations, such as hotels and condominiums,” the letter states.
The agreement, Porter said, should make moot legislation that Jekyll Island residents had pushed to restrict development plans.
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Giving gunowners the right to carry concealed on MARTA
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Today’s coming gunfight in the Senate could get interesting.
See this post for the topic’s origins this morning.
We’re hearing the deal that’s been cut on amendments to H.B. 257 would allow those with the proper permits to carry concealed in restaurants — even those that serve alcohol — and on MARTA.
One scenario theorizes that, once the bill is sent back to the House for its decision on whether to agree or disagree, the NRA-backed portion to allow employees to keep guns in cars parked on company lots will again be added.
But we’re hearing that one Senate Democrat, J.B. Powell of Blythe, will offer an amendment to that effect on the Senate floor, to ensure that the fireworks start that much earlier.
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Lawmaker gives up on Sunday sales of alcohol — this year
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
State Rep. Roger Williams (R-Dalton) says he has pulled the plug on legislation to permit Sunday retail sales of alcohol, out of deference to fellow Republicans who might face tougher elections if forced to vote on the issue.
But Williams says he’s gotten assurances that the measure will be one of the first “out of the chute” next year.
Tim Bryant, talk show host for WGAU (1340AM) in Athens, sent us the sound from his conversation this morning with Williams. Listen to it here.
And so the issue that House Speaker Glenn Richardson promised to skewer Gov. Sonny Perdue with has officially faded away.
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Isakson joins Senate compromise on housing bill
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Johnny Isakson has put himself at the center of a deal now building in the U.S. Senate over a plan to stimulate home sales.
He’s got the first quote in today’s take on the topic in the Washington Post:
The Senate had been scheduled to vote again yesterday on the existing Democratic bill, and Republican leaders were prepared to block it again.
But senators returned from a two-week break marked by the government rescue of a major Wall Street investment bank and growing anxiety over the economy among their constituents, and some Republicans argued that it was time to start working together.
“Unless every member of the Senate was in a cave over the two-week recess, it’s pretty obvious that gas prices and housing crisis are the two most important issues to the American public,” said Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), a former real estate broker who was among those urging Republican leaders to stop blocking the legislation.
“You can play that game when it doesn’t matter. But people’s lives, their fortunes, their largest single asset is at stake.”
The same article cites Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) as saying Democrats “are eager” to look at Isakson’s proposal to offer a $15,000 tax credit to those buying certain houses — to stimulate the market.
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Another gunfight may be brewing in the Senate
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Alice Johnson, the lobbyist representing Georgians for Gun Safety, smells a gunfight in the air.
She notes this morning that the Senate Rules Committee has put H.B. 257 on today’s calendar.
The bill adds constables to the list of law enforcement and judicial personnel permitted to pack heat in public buildings.
“The bill opens up the ‘public gathering’ section of the Georgia firearms code, and is a likely vehicle for language previously proposed by Rep. Tim Bearden in H.B. 89 and H.B. 915,” Johnson reports.
Sen. Mitch Seabaugh (R-Sharpsburg) asked for the bill last night, which makes it likely he would act as floor director for any amendments.
Parks have been the main target for those looking to lengthen the list of places where permitted owners can carry concealed.
The question is whether the National Rifle Association has any voice left in the Senate willing to re-start the fight over the right of employees to keep weapons in their cars parked on company lots.
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